Wish You Were Here
by JapanCat
Summary: Yukina's journey from her homeland of Hyouga and the slime and cockroach plagues paths that she crosses in its duration.
1. Chapter 1

Note: Yup, I'm doing one of these things again. (Mukuro was one. I also pretty much did one of these with Kirin, though no one cares about that one. I almost did one for Keiko but I forgot where it was going. COUGH Anyway…) This wasn't written in the first person mainly because I'm not as well acquainted with Yukina as I am with Mukuro, and thusly I can't get into her head enough to make it sound right, I think. Why this? Dude, Yukina's a more complex character than we think. I just think we never give her any justice. She's not a damsel in distress- she's lived through Tarukane and you know that left some psychological scars on her, too. And did you see the look on her face when she showed up? You don't wanna make her mad. (Especially considering that she's Hiei's sister, you gotta assume there have to be some ties deeper than blood. You can place them on the opposite sides of the spectrum, but that spectrum isn't linear- it's horseshoe shaped if you wanna believe me. I also wanna drop comparisons between her and Mukuro but that'll be something else entirely. And I'm sure I'm talking to her… what's the opposite of fans? Well, the people who don't care for her as much.)  
I tried really hard to make this as detailed as possible because I wanted to make this as close to what it might be like when you enter a world you've never seen before. I hope I did it good enough. Seeing how this is long as hell, I'm breaking this up into parts like I did with _Leaves of Grass_. I've been working on this for a year… Holy crap. Well, anyway, here's my take on her story. Enjoy.

Disclaimers? Too mainstream. (Note: Yukina refers to the word brother as "male sister." I believe that the word brother didn't last in Hyouga because there would have been no use for it. That's the reason.)

_Wish You Were Here_

"_There are no…  
Raindrops on roses and girls in white dresses  
It's sleeping with roaches and taking best guesses  
The shade of the sheets and before all the stains  
And a few more of your least favorite things"_

_-Panic! At the Disco, "Build God, then We'll Talk"_

-X-

It was fact, or maybe it was written, or maybe it was said that the world below was the very definition of hell, or at least some sort of manifestation of a more mundane hell. Down there, there were no morals. People stole and murdered. They sold women away. And that's the lighter of their crimes. You shouldn't even think about going there. You must not submit to its siren call.

A new rule was written that if you came down you would be stoned until you are no longer a threat.

And by that they mean death.

-X-

The moment before Yukina's feet touched the ground on the mountain, she looked back up at her home, not too longingly. In fact, it was more of a smile of triumph, knowing she didn't need that place anymore. Her fingers still reached up to the ledge from which she leapt.

For a moment, she thought to herself, "Rui might be worried by now." She did leave in the dead of night, outside the period of curfew though there was hardly ever someone out there to make sure everyone kept to that time. Because most people just followed the rules without question, taking in the words of the sacred text without wondering why they were. Of course, Yukina wasn't much of a student. She had penchant for dozing off partway through history and literature lessons and doodling on notes to the disdain of her teachers. No matter how many times they punished her by rapping her on the knuckles with rulers or have her stand with buckets full of snow in the back of the class, she would never break that habit. Rui should have expected it after telling her about her brother, revealing that she was not really Yukina's mother. So all she has now is a short note saying Yukina just went out for a walk (without her coat, to make it seem all the more plausible) and whatever consequences of breaking curfew will come. Rui had her own daughter to worry about anyway, along with herself. That life was left behind, yet…

Yukina looked out in the distance but all she could see was fog. _It's like I'm standing on top of the world… Maybe I am at the top._ Slightly disappointed she didn't see anything more exciting in her first moments on the World Below, she turned and looked for a path to show her down- there was none. She picked up a rock and tossed it down to keep in mind how long a fall it would be should she get careless. She shuddered at the image of her body lying down bloody like a freshly killed deer. And so she proceeded slowly step by step, practically tiptoeing down, humming a lullaby to try to comfort herself, eyes glued to the ground to watch her footing. Once the ground had leveled off and she made it to the base of the mountain, she took one more glance at where she was, and then turned her gaze to the moon in the sky, barely visible through the fog. Somehow the thought that some of it being cut off by her island bothered her more than anything in the world.

Yukina reminded herself of the Hirui stone around her neck. She put it under her kimono in between her breasts. _"If a man touches you, tries to get to that, you should fight as much as possible. Do not let him win. He shouldn't be touching you like that. Not that you'll ever need to meet a man._

"_You shouldn't be here."_

She shook her head and walked to the nearest tree, crouched to feel the dampness of the soil and sat at the base of the trunk. _So this is the world of men. It doesn't seem so bad at all._ She touched the soil again, rubbed it to feel the grainy texture unlike the smooth, watery kind at her home. She tried to roll a ball in between her fingers before she realized that it was only making her hands dirty. She looked up at the tree. It wasn't like the evergreens that sprouted everywhere; it was like one that had half its limbs chopped off. There were only branches that hung high above her head. The needles were stretched out, flattened out versions of it. What was it that Rui called them? She couldn't remember… _That's strange but… Still, what did I expect?_

"_It only doesn't seem bad because you haven't met anyone yet."_

_But if my Mother was able to come home alive and with my male sister and me, then I suppose they're nice people still. There should be nice people here. If we're supposed to be the moral people in this world, there should be exceptions._

"_But are they really? Don't you remember the legend?_

"_The high goddess _(Rui didn't know the names and acted as though she had only recently heard it- fancy that) _walked on earth before Hyouga was separated from it. The devil-man _(the word was at some point merged together she also supposed) _followed her and throughout her journey spread evil, disrupting all the good that she gave to the innocent people. The high goddess gave the great race plentiful supplies but the devil-man gave them famine and greed. The goddess gave them truth while he spread lies and ignorance. The high goddess, angry, called forth the devil-man and called the people in the great race to hold a trial._

"'_All my loyal subjects,' she said. 'Why do you listen to the Devil-man's words? Are my teachings not the rightful path? Do you not appreciate the gifts I give to you? Why do you stray from my path? Am I not your mother and creator?'_

"_The devil-man laughed, 'You are a fool, woman. You bear children, you have no right to bring authority! Why, without me, you would have no children to govern.' And the devil-man scoffed on and on and all of the people of the great race listened to him._

"_The high goddess struck him on the head with (_was it a blunt or sharp object?_) and his blood melted some of the land away. The high goddess walked onto the land as it began to separate from the earth and she called to the people, 'All you who are pure of heart, come with me so that you won't be tainted by the world the Devil-man has created.'_

"_And all the virtuous women- the men were all followers of the devil-man- came onto the goddess's land. And she lifted them all to the sky she took one last look at the ground below and shed tears for those who forsook her and her tears became the snow that covers the land. And so she gave the women the joy of childbirth without men and they lived happily on the island of Hyouga, hidden from the World Below by the goddess's protection._

_**ALL** OF THE MEN, YUKINA."_

_No, no, no, no, no! That's… _An animal with a stripped tail walked by and looked at her for a moment before going on its way. It made her smile. That was something to believe in.

-X-

The sun had begun to rise when Yukina woke up. Or she supposed it did because it was lighter. (Considering that Hyouga always seemed to be forever in a gloomy state of semi-darkness, she couldn't really say whether it was time for bed other than the coming of the curfew hour.) She looked at her surroundings again as she walked on between the strange trees. The dirt had some sort of coarse green hair, slightly itchy to the touch, which gave her a paper cut when she touched it a certain way. Rui said- and she took these little bits of wisdom from Hina- that the World Belowers called it grass, but she had no idea what it did and that it apparently leaves a dreadful stain on your clothes if you fell in it a certain way. Walking through the longer stalks of it was pleasant enough, though. At that moment, she thought about Rui and it sank in when- _No, I'll think about that later._

She analyzed the soil some more, looking back and forth, noting with her heart nearly skipping a beat that there was a path at last. _All paths lead to somewhere. You come cross them for a reason. They way you go will lead you to your destiny and it's always waiting for you. _And what else do they say? _Journeys end in blessings received._ She looked to her left and then to her right. _Was it the left hand of the devil-man and the right hand of the goddess or was it the other way around? _She sighed when she finally remembered the Elder scolding a friend for attempting to write with her left hand. So she went left.

As she traveled through the forest, she stopped occasionally, mainly out of lack of experience in traveling down slopes, but also to continue to take in the scenery. (_"Because you know soon enough this will stop being beautiful. Just remember that the devil-man…" I need to stop!_) Slowly she became more and more acquainted with the stubby trees called bushes low hanging branches on some of the trees, trying hard not to see compare them to the hands of an old woman. She had reached the end of the forest when she saw the sparkling lights of a city down from the hill she was standing on.

_It looks so magical… I wonder if he saw this, too… "Never mind that, fool! The Devil-Man tempts you by using splendor to draw you in and when he catches you there's no turning back." …A little caution might not hurt, I suppose._ She sighed and continued down the hill, stopping once to watch the grass flow in the wind like the waves in a bathtub or long hair in the steady wind. For a moment, she allowed herself to think that if the Devil-Man was hiding in the grass, she wouldn't mind letting herself be taken away.

Once she was closer to the town, she came across a cracked stone road. She paused to inspect it, not entirely sure what she was looking at. She thought she saw similar material used in fireplaces, but this wasn't as brittle as what they used in it. In fact, it appeared to be a massive slab of stone. (_Why, that must mean they have giants that cut mountains!_) At home, the stone paths that were there were broken up stones, cobble stones they were called, but they were only used to make a path towards the village elder's house or the temples of the goddess. Occasionally there was one going towards the cemetery, but that was only in the case of villages made up of the most honorable women… But this material here was used everywhere. In fact, even the buildings seemed to be made by more or less the same material, except with more cracks from apparent wear and tear and the planks that were forced on the windows. Looking down the road she saw lines and lines of blackness and grey in contrast to the beautiful greens and browns that she passed in the forest. There weren't many trees that she could see, and the ones that were there were practically bare. She stepped further down the street and stopped next to some sort of metal carriage. There were roughly ten that she counted within thirty paces of herself. She has only ever seen a carriage once in her life and that was used because the visiting elder was beginning to feel the onsetting of arthritis. _Maybe most people here have troubles with their legs?_

A woman grumbled something vulgar as she shoved Yukina out of her way. A graying woman with a large wart on her neck, and strange greenish grey scales that served as her skin, dressed in the oddest robes Yukina had ever seen, practically painted on her, saving space only at her rear for what looked like- dear goddess, is that a _tail?_ She heard a sniggering coming from her right, turned to see a group of four ragged looking men staring at her with what she hoped wasn't hungry eyes.

Fancy that, so that's what men look like. She was imagining some odd appendages attached to their every limb, but from what she could tell, everyone had that in some way or form. (Granted there were maybe two faces she saw so far that appeared to be somewhat familiar.) She sought out the one that was most familiar in terms of body structure and tried to compare their body shapes. So men had hair on their faces (more than the bits of fuzz Yukina's friends always seemed to be anxious about for some reason) and they had broader shoulders and narrower hips. Plus or minus some extra waist space with the kinds of pants that they wore. They lacked breasts for some reason. Then she couldn't really imagine what else was different that she couldn't see. (_Filthy girl! What are you thinking?_) She blushed a little when the man noticed she was staring, and she started walking down the street too fast, hoping he didn't have a clue of what she was thinking.

She stopped at the end of the street, unsure of whether to turn or to keep going further. The city seemed to go on forever and the rest of the city looked the same. Her heart pounded at the thought of getting lost, not that it was never a possibility to begin with. In fact, as far as she was concerned she had to know where she was to be considered "lost."

Yet a voice called out to her, "Hey, you, babe. You lost or something?"

Yukina turned around and saw a couple of men, roughly around the same size which was no wider than Yukina but skinny as old sticks. One was wearing a round black hat to cover his greasy, ragged looking hair, but not enough to hide the long pointed ears. His face was sunken in like he hadn't eaten in a long time and his eyes looked like they were going to pop out, framed below by dark bags under his eyes. He had an awkward trace of facial hair, some hairs here and there, but not enough to make the bushes on his face like the other men. His clothes hung loosely around him- a large black jacket over a red and blue striped shirt and his baggy blue pants (sagging on his waist so his tail could come out) barely concealing large boots. The other man was dressed in a sleeveless shirt which was brown, or some sort of old dusty grey that Yukina assumed wasn't the natural color of the material. His pants were also loose on him, dark brown with splotches of white like they had been ruined in the wash. And he also wore a pair of tick boots, though his were shiny like they had metal on the toes. He was better clean shaven than the other man, in fact he was completely bald, with horns lining the bumps of his head and a couple of wolf-like fangs sticking from his mouth. She noticed his nails were thick like an old woman's and they were also long like a beast's. His skin was an odd shade of blue. His face was also sunken in like he was starving and he had an anxious air about him, his arms shaking when he wasn't tapping a toe. Just when she took a closer look at his eyes, red tinted at the corners was all she saw, he slipped on a pair of dark glasses.

The man in the striped shirt took out a small box from his pocket, offered it to his friend who didn't take it, took out a small stick and lit it with a small switch so it would smoke softly. She smiled crookedly, his eyes not joining in the expression as he breathed out smoke and flicked out ashes. "Yeah, I was talkin to you. You lookin around like you're not from round here so me and him get to thinkin you're already lost."

She knew it would be rude to ignore him just for being a man. Besides, he doesn't look like he was threatening at all. He could probably help her out, and they even looked like they were the kinds of men who know about everyone in the city. It wouldn't hurt to try. "Why, yes, I am. New in town, I mean. So as you can see, I haven't a clue as to where I should go."

"Hm…" He inhaled more of the smoke. "Well, where you wanna go then?"

"I… I don't know, actually."

He chuckled, elbowing his friend who briefly laughed as well. "Well, I dunno what to tell you then. Hey, Slick, my man, whadya think? You think we take her round town then? Show her all there is to see here in Capital City?"

The man in the glasses, the one called Slick-was it? _What an odd name!_- looked at Yukina for a long while, the edges of his mouth perking up. "Yeah, why not, Al? Could use some good karma, can't we?"

"Pvvt, like we ever did anything wrong. All right, then, babe, just so you know we ain't the goodest tour guides in the world but we do know our way round here good." He motioned for the two to follow him, Yukina between the man called Al and Slick. She couldn't help but feel Slick's gaze locked on her and fought the urge to shudder. "By the way, name's Al Capone. Heard some guy on the other side was called that and I think he got a classy name. And my buddy here is Mr. Slick. Geddit, cause he's got no hair so he looks real slick? So what's your name and where you from?"

"I'm Yukina and I'm from Hyouga," she answered, a simple smile crossing her lips before she realized what she had done.

Al Capone paused. "What? Where?"

"Hyouga. It's… It's an island in the sky." _Oh goddess, I need to stop! I'm telling him too much! What if something bad happens when I-_

He stared at her like she was crazy before bursting with laughter. He clutched his stomach as he asked, "You're yanking my chain, right? That's just some crackpot theory. Seriously, where you from?" She was slightly relieved and equally confused as she repeated her answer. "Man, you are a joker. Come on, seriously, where you from?" She didn't answer him that time, knowing even if she told him and thousand times it would still be a joke. He was about to ask her one more time but a man in a strange black uniform approached them, sucking away all of Al's jovial attitude. He straightened up and puffed out his chest, which only added about a couple of inches in his girth, as he sucked in more smoke. Slick on the other hand just slouched and looked away.

"Stirring up trouble again, Capone? You just got out on parole, too. Don't think we can't lock you up again," the man in the uniform said.

"We ain't doin nothin, see. This gal comes along and says she's new in town and we're just showin her round here. It's called, what is it called, Slick? Oh yeah, it's called community service, man! Is that a crime, Mister _Officer_?" He flicked some ashes at the man, grinning widely at his own wit.

"You sure she's from out of town? Miss, where are you from?" Mister Officer asked, turning to Yukina.

"She's from a couple towns over. From the slums. Beaut, ain't she? Big old tale of a flower growin in…"

"I was talking to the girl, Capone."

_Maybe this man knows something these two know. He doesn't seem like he means me any harm, either._ "My name is Yukina and I am from a place called Hyouga." She glanced at Slick and Al and her stomach dropped. Slick choked on air and Al's eyes grew shifty as though he was looking for an escape. Even Mister Officer started to look angry. Well, might as well sleep in the bed that she made. "I'm telling the truth. I could show you where…" No, she couldn't show these men where she came from. It was too soon for that and they weren't the right men. "Well, I walked down from a mountain nearby. It's down the path. It's very close to my home."

Mister Officer turned to Al. "You drugged her."

"No, I didn't. She says to me, 'I'm from Hyouga,' see? I thought she was screwin with me but if she's high then it ain't my fault," Al replied. "Back me up here, Slick." Slick just nodded not entirely committing to the whole thing.

"Well, you clearly lied to me, then. Boys, you're coming with me, and you miss, you're getting tested."

"_For what?"_

Yukina looked around and saw there were people gathering around them, watching. She felt embarrassed and stared at her feet, but she knew they were all looking. She felt a hand on her shoulder, turned her head a bit and saw it was Slick trying to comfort her, though he wasn't looking at her. She wanted to shake off his hand, feeling he had an ulterior motive somehow.

"On account of suspicion of you smuggling in illegals now. What else do you think?" Mister officer grabbed Al by the arm and waved his stick around at the people watching. "Hey, hey, hey! Get on with your business! This isn't a show. And don't make me shock stick the both of you, damn low class mongrels. People like you make me glad I'm taking this job." Al growled under his throat but Slick waved a hand. They all were crammed in the back of a metal carriage. Yukina, though fastened by a sort of thick belt attached to the seat, leaned forward to touch the window covered with a black metal lattice. She wished she could have inspected how Mister Officer operated the vehicle. In fact, she would have been more fascinated and excited at the chance of being inside it, but her mind was focused on one thing and one thing only.

The test.

"Um, Mister Al Capone?" Yukina asked. He grunted to indicate he heard her. "Is… Is the test hard?"

"The what?"

"The test. I don't bring anything to write with and I'm scared I might fail. What happens if I fail? Do I get a beating? I'm so scared, I'm not sure how to ask about what to study."

"It's a _drug_ test, you know that, right? What the hell kind of country town you from?"

"Drug test? I don't know anything about drugs. Do you know what kinds of questions they ask you? Could you help me study or is that cheating?"

"They don't ask you questions. It's not _that_ kind of test."

"Oh, what kinds of things do you do on this one?" Mister Officer told them all to shut up.

Slick sighed. "They give you a cup…"

"Don't tell her! Just sit the hell down and shut the fuck up!" Mister Officer screamed at them. Under his breath, he mumbled, "Shit, they don't pay me enough for this."

When they reached the station, Mister Officer took Yukina into a waiting room. It wasn't different from the ones at home, except that it had a sick sort of smell to it, especially when you really sat back in the chairs. There were also boxes with windows that showed tiny people talking, wearing strange clothes. Mister Officer cleared his throat and she blessed him so his soul wouldn't crawl out from his throat. He told her that he was going to escort Al and Slick away into the Immigration Department and that he was going to leave her with a young man he called Recruit so they parted ways. Al threw Yukina a small thumbs-up sign and Slick gave her a brief wry smile. She sighed, feeling as though she was losing her first friends.

A woman called Yukina to the counter and Recruit followed her there. The woman gave her a plastic cup. Yukina held it up, cocking her brows.

"But it's empty…" she said.

"Of course it is," the woman replied apathetically.

"Is there somewhere I have to go, like getting a potion and I drink it and that's how I pass?"

"Bitch, you stupid? _You _fill it up and you bring it over here?"

"With what exactly?"

The woman rolled her eyes at Yukina. "First time, huh? Look, lady, you pee in it. You know what that means, at least?"

"But that's so indecent." She could see Recruit laughing into a balled fist in the corner of her eye.

"You see this nametag? Does it say I'm certified to give a shit? No? 'Cause I don't give any fucks about what you think. I don't make the rules here, got it? Bathroom's down the hall, to the left. Bring that to me when you're done with that." Yukina took it, feeling blood rush to her face. After a few moments of fighting with herself, she came back with the deed being done. "Not so hard, now is it, princess? Go down the hall to the right and have your blood drawn. Now skedaddle with your boy here."

It wasn't until Recruit was tugging at her arm to lead her that she realized her feet were planted on the ground, taking the woman's insults, though not really hearing or understanding any of them. They were going to take her blood. What could that possibly mean? How do you take out someone's blood? And moreover… Isn't that how the Devil-man possesses people- by taking their blood or hair or nails? (Hence blessing a person when they get cut and burning your hair and nails when they're cut, sweeping them away as fast as possible.) Then again, the Devil-man…

"Right here," Recruit said as he grabbed her arm and then she realized she was following him without a second thought. He told her to sit down and she did so slowly. Just then a woman in a scandalously short white dress and a hat with a red cross on it walked in, pushing a creaky cart that clattered with the sound of what sounded like glass cups. She snorted and asked in a sinus congested nasally voice, "Name?" Yukina gave her name and the woman took a chunky pen and scribbled on some sort of glass tube on which was attached a needle.

This couldn't be the Devil-man, couldn't it? The Devil-man disguised as a woman? Or could she be one of his accomplices? She really wished she paid more attention during school but she was too busy staring out the window back then. As many times as they discussed the Devil-man and the Hell Downstairs she couldn't remember a single bit of it at the moment. Still, she feigned trust and gave her arm when it was ordered that she do so. When she saw the needle approaching her arm, she shut her eyes tight and turned her head away, clenching her hands and teeth, and crying out when it pierced her skin.

"It's over, Yukina," the woman said as she put the tube on the cart. "Nervous one, eh? At least we know you don't do crystal, ain't that right, boy?" She looked at Recruit in detail. "Hm… Real looker you. You wanna give me somma that?"

"Oh shut up, you hag." Recruit waved around his middle finger.

-X-

Recruit left her at a prison cell. It was just enough room to give her walking space, though the floors were stained with something that was a cross between orange and brown. There was a sink that continuously dripped no matter how many times she shook the knob, and she tried not to think about the awful stink or the green stains and hairy substance that lingered around the drain. The toilet was also left out in the open, so she felt paranoid when she needed it, scared that someone would come in at some inconvenient time. The walls were white, or she assumed they were supposed to be but years of wear and tear and dirt and grime made it more of a dusty off white, even more obscured by spider web like cracks that occasionally traveled around the walls. There was one window in the room but it was too high to see because of her small stature. She wasn't entirely sure if it was unclear because of the cracks on it or if it had bars in it. The bed looked filthy like it hadn't gotten washed since the last time the walls were painted and it creaked incessantly with the slightest movement. She still made the most of it in her mind. At least there was a bed, toilet, sink, and window. And at least, they left her alone in the room- no man to do her what the Devil-man did to women. Whatever that was. The elders were never entirely clear as to what would happen should a man get near you- it just somehow produced a son.

She sat on the bed and spent the next two days, humming rhymes and reciting fairy tales until they made her feel sick.

-X-

Two days after, a female guard came in and she said Yukina passed the test but she had to take her to an interview in the City Hall. She took Yukina in another one of the metal carriages and took her downtown without answering any of Yukina's questions about where they were going. She stared out the window and watched the rundown buildings and people go by, a few of the people turning heads to which she turned her face away, though knowing they couldn't see her face. (And even if they could, they wouldn't know or care it was she.) They stopped in front of a large grey building. There wasn't any sign on it. Just numbers in rusted silver metal, none of which meant anything to Yukina. (Except there were four numbers, one of which was the number four, which she remembered was unlucky.) The female guard opened the door for Yukina and led her to a gated door where she pushed a button on a box attached to the wall. The female guard spoke into the box, "Good afternoon, this is Comrade Kataoka, bringing in the supposed illegal alien named Yukina for her scheduled appointment with Comrade Kirin."

The box answered, "Request confirmed, comrade."

The gate pulled away and the female guard, Comrade Kataoka led her inside the building where a large man, about twice Yukina's size by weight and height, with a silver mask through which wisps of white-silver hair (or she assumed that it was anyway) leapt out from wildly. In one hand he held a clipboard and a box with buttons and the word SONI written on it. With his free hand, the large man exchanged a gesture with Comrade Kataoka, a rigid gesture where they held their hand next to their eyes as though they were trying to chop the air with their hands, and then Comrade Kataoka left the two.

Yukina glanced at the man, deducing that this must the Comrade Kirin. He didn't say anything as he led her down the halls. She felt as though she was walking through a hospital because the walls were white as was the flooring. (She wished her cell was as sterile looking as this hall was.) She felt so uncomfortable walking the halls that she couldn't even laugh at the way the man walked, taking heavy steps and his shoulders turning with his legs with every step like a bear. He was probably what the Devil-man would have looked like (since Yukina always imagined a cartoonishly large bearlike man) but she still didn't think she should be afraid of him.

She walked into him and blushed, realizing that once again she was lost in her own thoughts again, and she hurried into the room as soon as Comrade Kirin opened the door. They sat across from each other at a cold black square table of which Comrade Kirin could barely fit himself in, and there was a small lamp overhead. Yukina looked around the room. Yet another white room that seemed as sterile as a hospital, if it weren't for the cracks. (She could have sworn she saw that the cracks were actually plaster used to cover holes in the walls. _Then again, why would there be holes in the…. Oh dear…_) There was a mirror on one wall, though she felt as though people could still see through it. _Well, anything's possible in this world, I guess._ On the wall opposite the mirror was a picture. It was the oddest person she could have imagined, right next to Comrade Kirin here. It was a black and white picture of a person whose face was covered up with bandages and some sorts of talismans, save for one large eye, which peeked out from in between. He (or maybe _she_, as it is possible, right?) was also wearing a vest and a white shirt.

Just as Comrade Kirin started to clear his throat to get her attention, Yukina asked, "Who is that?"

He looked over his shoulder. "What? You don't know who that is?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't. Are they sick?"

"S- That's our King Mukuro, you're talking about."

"Why is he- or she…"

"Rest assured, Lord Mukuro is a man."

"…wearing bandages like that? I could heal him if he's ill. He looks like a good man but if he's sick… That's so sad."

"Rest assured, he is _not._ Let's get down to business, shall we? Give me your name and where you were born to start with." He pressed a button on the SONI box and a small light turned on as gears started to move within it. He started to twirl a pen around his finger, as a habit from what Yukina was picking up from him.

"My name is Yukina and I come from… I come from Hyouga."

"You're lying."

"But I'm not. Why does everyone think so?" _Should it surprise me though? It just means that we went into isolation successfully. That's a good thing for them…_

He sighed and took a small clock out of his pocket. "You really don't know, do you? You seem to be sticking to your story. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt right now." But she could tell by the tone of his voice that he still didn't believe her, that he should play her game. "Okay, so some four, five hundred years ago there was this text by one Yukio Kaku who wrote of a floating island in the sky which accounts for ancient texts which discussed a land mass which suddenly lifted into the sky. Depending on your religion it was either a punishment or a way to save a chosen people. Most of his text was on the basis of myth, really. Though he also mentions that there are zones on this world that do have periodical mists and there have also been reports of a mysterious white meteor that lies at the center of the mist. There are no records of people ever coming down these peoples or people going there which makes the whole thing more unbelievable. There have been claims that every so often a young female child or a male infant is found dead by dropping where it is impossible that such a thing could happen, but we have that under close investigation. In short, this is no more than a conspiracy theory linked in with apparent abuses of children and infants,"

"And you know nothing of my people?"

"Assuming you are what you say you are, then no."

"Could you…" She inspected his uniform. "Is that a pin on your shirt?" He nodded. "Let me have it. I will find a way to convince you then." He hesitated before he took the star shaped pin from his uniform. She cradled it in her hands before apologizing and driving the sharp end of it into her palm. She felt the tears race to her eyes and the blood rising from her wound. The tears dropped on the table and the floor with a light plinking sound like a large button hitting the ground. She looked at Kirin and she knew by the look in his widening eyes that she had proved her point. "They're called Hirui stones. My people make these when we cry. I don't know if anyone else in the world makes them too. You can have them. I don't need them."

"I've never heard of… Never in my life…" He picked one up, inspected it, and then he regained his composure. "I'll have to take these in for further research of course. So clearly you're a foreigner that somehow crossed our borders."

"Which is bad?"

"No one can cross into the other kingdoms. We made that agreement in the Treaty of Gandara of 1542."

"Why not? Why can't you cross the borders regardless? What harm does that do?"

"You just can't. We agreed to it for us to stop warring over borders. The ones who still cross are most likely spies or somehow well- No, they're just horrible spies that must be stopped. Everyone is documented so we know who's from where."

"Everyone? Even babies?"

"Yes, as soon as you're born you're given a license number. Where do you come from? Don't you do this in whatever alien country you're from?"

"Hyouga? No. Everyone knows everyone, actually. It does get quite dreadful when someone's done something wrong or let something nasty about someone else slip, you see. But does this mean you would know my male sister if he's here?"

"You mean your _brother_? I suppose."

"He's…" She realized she didn't have a clue what his name was or what he looked like. "Well, he has a fiery aura that makes it impossible for you to touch him, supposing he hasn't gotten that under control yet. And he's my age."

"Hate to say it, but that's extremely broad. Do you mean that you have a sister who's male or that she wants to be male? I'm not sure what you're asking me."

"Male sister. A sister who's a man."

"So you do mean brother."

"I don't know what the word is."

He sighed irritably. "Your time's up. This has been enlightening to say the least. Well, you're going back to your jail cell since it appears that you came here on your own unaided by those delinquents."

She nodded, still not seeing what was so dreadful about being in this country when she apparently posed no threat. At least she could think of a better strategy while waiting in the room. "Um, one question. Do you know the king?"

"I work with him, yes."

"Take care of him, please. I see the picture and I think he looks so sad. I get the feeling as though he had a hard life. So please, help him so that he could be happy." He nodded and she knew that he thought those were the words of a madwoman. "And another thing, Comrade… Kirin… You have such kind eyes. I know that you're a nice man. I know I'm not supposed to trust men, but I think you're a good person through and through."

"Don't say that. Oh… You're one of those…" He sighed and shook his head. "What a crying shame. People like you always make me regret that you're going to be put to death."

He mumbled something else. Maybe it was her imagining or hoping, but what she heard was, "I'm so sorry."

-X-

_"Hey Little Sister, what have you done_?  
_Hey Little Sister, who's your only one?  
Hey Little sister who's your superman?  
Hey Little Sister, who's the you want?_

_...There is nothing fair in this world.  
There is nothing safe in this world.  
And there's nothing sure in this world  
And there's nothing pure in this world.  
Look for something left in this world."_

_-Billy Idol, "White Wedding."_

-X-

Notes: Hey, guys, cutting it in half here. Will get the next half to you soon! I'm trying my best to make this work, let me know what I can do to improve, since Yukina's not my specialty, as I said. But please don't tell me that this Yukina is too tough. Give her a chance, come on… (Of course if you tell me she's too weak, that might work for me.)  
By the way, if you're wondering why Mukuro's kingdom seems so communist, it's because when I was writing this, I was also writing 1945, where I based Mukuro off of Stalin. I can't help but get the feeling that someone was a communist, but I think that might be Yomi. Who knows.

See you soon, thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

_Wish You Were Here_

Notes. The names make more sense if thought of in the context of being in Japan. And what I mean is that it might sound cool to these people when in reality it just sounds ridiculous…. I feel like that sounds like I'm being racist… If it helps you any, I really wanna call a dog Chetiri. (which is four in Russian. Sounds cool in English though…) PS, kind of a mythology gag hidden in here. It relates to Hiei in here. And no, I'm not talking about someone appearing, who isn't Hiei at all, I'm discussing food here. Inquire in a comment or something if you don't get it. And I can't stress enough that the man in here is not Hiei. He makes no appearance in this story at all.

"_This city desert makes you feel so cold.  
It's got so many people but it's got no soul  
And it's taking you so long  
To find out you were wrong  
When you thought it had everything  
You used to think that it was so easy  
You used to say that it was so easy  
But you're tryin'  
You're tryin' now_

_Another year and then you'll be happy  
Just one more year and then you'll be happy  
But you're cryin'  
You're cryin' now"_

_-Gerry Rafferty ("Baker Street")_

-X-

Yukina sat on the bed, legs folded up against her chest, arms wrapped tightly around her knees- an uncomfortable position to be sitting in considering the kimono in which she was dressed- and her head was leaning against the wall, the old plaster chipping into her hair. It was completely silent except for the occasional sound of a toilet flushing or a door opening and closing somewhere in the building. No contact except for the officer who brought in her meals. It reminded her of one of the times she had accidentally fallen asleep in one of her classes back in Hyouga. The teacher became enraged with Yukina, calling it an "open statement of disrespect" and disregarded any excuse (mainly and especially the one how Yukina had spent the night studying for a test in another class) that was given. Of course, her main cause for concern was the supposed mentioning of a "male sister" (brother, so that Kirin called it) in her sleep. And so Yukina was sent to stay in isolation in her home- only given the sacred texts to read and her only contact with Rui at home when she was given her one meal, rather than three, a day. (Though, Rui was a little more lax when the teacher left their home, and allowed Yukina some snacks to hide when needed.) At the time, it seemed like such a harsh punishment, not being able to see her friends for a week or to think about anything but the sacred texts, on top of catching up with what was discussed in her classes.

_But now… Now I was spoiled in comparison to how I'm living now. At least I knew I had a time period of when I can leave. Now I don't know that or where I am or where I should be going._ She smiled at the irony. _Funny, I wanted to run away from home and now I kind of miss it. Though, if I could just see Rui one more time… I would be happy. _And she thought back to Kirin's words- "People like you always make me regret that you're going to be put to death."

Death.

She was going to die. Granted, she was sure she would die in the near future one way or another. If she met her brother, there might be a good chance he would kill her since it was _supposedly_ his nature (not that she ever bought that, thinking children were born blank slates) or he would have a grudge- even if they were bonded by blood. When she comes back- if she comes back without her brother in the off chance she finds the search futile or if her brother refuses to come back to destroy the village and all the women with it- she would be punished by the women, usually the punishment was being pushed off the island, so Rui once whispered. (_One push from each woman, lined up side by side starting from the Holy Mountain of the High Goddess, Oyuki, and down to the edge of the High Goddess's daughter, the Goddess Shirahime, where their ties could no longer be burdened by her weight. YOUR weight, Yu- STOP!)_ There was the even worse possibility that became more and more of a reality, that she would be killed by the so-called Devil-man that lurks in the World Below. Maybe she could find a way to talk the punishers out of the deed. She didn't do anything wrong, and maybe she could stop someone from making the first one, as it was always thought in Koorime morality. _Why not? I've talked people out of having a horrible fight when they've held grudges against each other…_

_Except… Except this isn't some schoolyard feud. This is like a grudge between two village elders. Bigger than that, even. What could a girl like me do? I don't know their ways…. Still, what is the difference between Sad Eyes King Mukuro and the lands of his enemies?_

_You know what they say, "The Devil-man creates separations between the people so he could feed on their blood and chaos."_

_ENOUGH! _She stood up. She'll break out of this prison. She just needs to find a way out. Her best friend Fubuki said the best place to go was somewhere obvious because when someone looks for you they think you're sneaky and look for a hidey-hole. "The obvious," she says, "is the real secrecy." Looking around she only found the window and the door. She walked towards the window, and stood on the tips of her toes. No good. She was too small and couldn't reach. She tried jumping in a sorry attempt to reach but it was still too high. She supposed she could move the bed over. Looking at it at the moment, she didn't think she had the strength to push that what with the metal frame- assuming it could at all- and even still she had to consider making a sound too early in the game. She knew she couldn't open the door since it was locked from the outside.

Her only possibilities- gone. Unless she can get an officer to help her out, but she would have to get their attention first. Even then, she knew she had to be able to really read people well if she could snare one into her favors. She wasn't confident she could do that anymore, seeing how everyone down here seemed so dreary. It didn't look very promising at all. She sighed and remembered the legend of the Saint Yukina, of which was her namesake…

"_It was during the Devil-man's Reign of Terror when the people in the world were beginning to become corrupted as they were won over by his deceit. But there was one young woman who was a close follower of the High Goddess. When she prayed and burned incense for the goddess, the other villagers would come to her and say, 'Yukina, why do you waste your time praying to that bothersome goddess? Come out and join us. Don't be such a hermit for your young age.'_

"_The woman refused their offer. When the villagers were going to the forests to hunt a sacrifice, she would sit on a stone near the High Goddess's temple and tell all who listened the teachings of the Goddess. The villagers would sometimes come and disrupt her preachings, calling her a heathen in the face of the Devil-man._

"_One day the men who pursued the virtue of all the villager women met Yukina. He asked for her hand in marriage. She refused because it would interfere with her loyalty to the High Goddess and hurried away. He continued to ask her everyday until she ran away in the middle of the night behind a waterfall so that when the wicked man searched her house he did not find her. A child in the village told him he heard of a person leaving in the middle of the night. The man gathered a group and they rode to the waterfall, where the wicked man found her. She once again refused to be his wife and the wicked man did what men do to women and killed her._

"_She cried as she was breathing her last breath for her salvation and the goddess burned her body with purifying flames, and on the day of judgment she took the woman's ashes to the heavens and made her a saint. She scattered the ashes throughout the island to make that protective mist that surrounds Hyouga to this day."_

_Would I be able to suffer the same fate as the Saint Yukina? But then again, I was never as devout as she was and I committed the ultimate offense by leaving my home. And even if that wasn't the case, where would my ashes be sent…?_

She slumped at the thought. She knew that just sharing a name with someone didn't necessarily mean that they would also share the same fate. She was lucky if she was able to live even after all this. She slid her legs down with the intention of going down to the floor and pray but she thought better of it. So she reached down her kimono and pulled out her mother's tear, stopping once to listen if anyone was coming that way. She stared at the stone, trying to look passed her own miniature reflection.

Rui said that her brother also had a stone, and Yukina knew it was her best chance of finding him. Somehow leaving it out for all to see didn't sit right with her. No, she knew why she didn't think it was a good idea. But still… What if her brother didn't know that?

What if he has one even now? Is he looking at it right now, too? Is he thinking of her? Of their mother? Does he know about either one?

_Is he still alive? No…. No. He'll come back._

_Please… Let me see my brother just one time in my life. I'd do anything…_

She laid her head on the musty pillow, the stench of dirt and oil making her fate solid. She thought of the smell of her pillows at home. The soft smell of pine needles. She never thought she would miss it. She never thought she would miss the hymns of her homeland. Rui's voice telling her to get up in the morning.

_This place is so hot… I hate it. Please, please, please, don't let me die here._

-X-

There was a sound of keys in the door. Yukina perked up at the sound, then slumped against the wall, assuming that these were the people coming to execute her. Instead it was only the single officer that often entered her cell.

"A letter for you." She held it out. A white envelope that has been torn open with unskilled hands, the paper inside sticking out bent and crinkled. "Contents state it's from your brother. He is asking to stand trial right now."

"My brother?" Yukina's face lit up. "Could I see the letter?" She was standing now. She was feeling so tempted to just grab the letter from her hands and read every word and stare at every speck of dust that could have landed upon its pages. She held her fingers inside the sleeves of her kimono to hold back the temptation.

"Of course. I must remain here until you finish it."

"I can't keep it?"

"Against regulations."

"W-what do you mean? I can't possibly harm myself using that paper. Or not… Badly at least."

"Don't question the system, lady. That's just the way things are and you best accept them or thing'll get real ugly for you. And hell if I'm gonna let myself have my first fifty-two-fifty be a little girl in outdated clothes."

Yukina bit her lip to try and not call the guard out on her rudeness, not really ever being one that would let such a thing slide, even if people thought she was too nice to say such things. But she remembered, she was a prisoner, a stranger in a strange land, both of which meant she had little, if any, rights to even be treated with the respect she deserves. Instead she nodded. "Well, thank you for giving me this letter."

She opened it, taking care not to give herself a paper cut. (And really, that anyone should cause a great deal of harm with a paper cut!) And read the letter,

"_Hello my dear sister. I have gotten word from some friends that you got yourself in to some trouble. Sending for you soon to help smooth down any feathers ruffled. Going to court in the next couple of days. Been busy. Don't let anyone be too mean to you. Don't worry. All will be well soon enough. See you then. Big bro."_

Yukina's hands started shaking, tears welling in her eyes. Her brother found out. Somehow, he found out. Maybe he was friends with that Al Capone and Mr. Slick guy and they told him about her. Oh, that her brother was still caring as she knew he would be in her dreams. Fate brought them together. He'll work everything up. _And he knows about me! He remembers me even after all this time and after we were separated at birth! He remembers me. On my brother… My wonderful, amazing… brother!_

With deep regret, she handed the letter back to the guard, who walked out. Yukina sat on the bed, and then stood as her legs were too restless to take sitting anymore. Instead, she danced in the room to the sound of the drippy sink, the rocks hitting the window, and the words of the hymns from her homeland. Nothing would ruin her mood.

Her brother found her. And he was going to save her. Then- everyone else.

…Wait, what rocks hitting the window?

-X-

So the two days had passed. Yukina spent the day on her feet, waiting for the door to open. At what appeared to be midday, judging by the sunlight through the window, the door opened and a small male guard walked in.

"I'm taking you to your brother. He has the court order and everything. Sorry about the mix-up, miss. Hope you get better. Say, I know some really good natural remedies you can use if you're interested. Lemme tell your brother about it first, since he'll really know," the man said.

Yukina brought her fists to her face to hide her shock. What is that supposed to mean? Natural remedies? _Then again, maybe my brother told them I was sick. Oh, brother, you're so clever!_

They reached the front desk and there was a man standing. His hair was the same shade of green as Yukina's and eyes the same red color. He was much taller than Yukina but seemed to have half of her weight. He was dressed in an odd purple suit with new-pine colored shoes. He smiled and rushed to Yukina.

"There's my little Kotori! Oh, mother was so worried about you!" the man said.

"K-Kotori…? Wait, I don't…" Yukina stammered. The man with the green hair discreetly nudged her in the gut. She understood immediately. She also wished she was the great actress her best friends were. She clutched her head. "Oh, sorry. My headache's been getting to me."

"Poor thing. So stressed out." The man with the green hair turned to the guard. "She always does this when she's away from our mother. Real sheltered kid. Real handful, too. Hasn't been the same since we heard dad died. But it's all the best if we're to show that asshole Yomi a thing or two, right?

"Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss, Mr. Takahashi. But you're right, for the good of the state!" He did his strange hand gesture.

"I would very much be like my father, but Kotori's so fragile. It would break her heart if we were separated again."

"I know just the thing to help with her sickness. See, my aunt is a healer. Here's her card. She'll do just the right thing. I shouldn't keep you too long. So long you two. And my apologies once more, Miss Takahashi. I'm glad you're away from those dreadful junkies."

"Really. They put them in the clinker yet?"

"I wish."

"What a shame. Let's go, Kotori. I'll make you your favorites. Anything you want, babe." He grabbed her by the shoulder, practically dragging her out. They came to a metal carriage and they both went to the back seat. "Okay, Slick, drive us home."

Wait, what? Yukina leaned over and sure enough, Mr. Slick was sitting in the front seat giving her the brightest smile. She turned to the man with the green hair, gasping as the hair grew longer and greasier, turning darker and darker. His ears lengthened and pointed. His eyes turned a pale blue and his skin changed color. The eyes sunk in and a tail poked out of the seat of his pants. Her "brother" had become Al Capone.

He turned to Yukina. "Sweet power, you think? I'm great at parties, I swear. I can turn in to some scary ass animals, too. You wanna see my take on Youko Kurama?"

"B-but, my brother… Where's… How?" Yukina asked.

"Oh that? We needed a story that would break you out. We all know what they do with foreigners around here. Take a left Slick. Think someone's tailing us. Anyway… What? No shit, I know there's no one behind us! I know these kinds of things, okay, dick head? As I was saying. We knew you were gonna die so we try thinking of a way to get you out. Slick was the one who thought of the whole big bro thing and I saw you enough to think of what he would look like. I couldn't tell you the plan since they look at the notes but I tried to give you something to let you know what's goin on. Foraged the papers and everything. So you thank Mr. Slick up here. And gimme some credit, too, will ya? Shape-shiftin hurts like a mother, ya know?"

"So there's no brother?"

Slick looked at her in the mirror. "Sorry."

"…But why would you do this?" Yukina asked. She caught herself before adding, _Because you're a man. Take me back if you want to do the evil thing to me!_

"Hey, we promised you a tour of the capital, right?" Slick's smile made her a bit nervous.

-X-

They finished the brief tour of the capital, most of which seemed to be the same street repeated over and over. Normally a person might find this distressing or depressing, but Yukina remembered her homeland was set up in much the same way, with the next village over being exactly the same. She supposed that's why some of the other village elders tended to go insane after a certain amount of time- the real reason why Ice Maidens die. Old age leads to confusion, which in turn leads to some mercy killing. Oh goddess, why does her homeland seem to be so obsessed with death? She shook her head and followed Al Capone in to their home.

It was a small building with very few windows, with a strange smoky scent constantly wafting through the air. There was trash everywhere, mainly crumpled papers and a few discarded rotting foods of a stock Yukina couldn't recognize both because of the foreignness of it and because its state of decomposition. Slick immediately started clearing some of the mess off the long chair that they called a couch.

"Hey, Al, get me a bag. We gotta clean this shit up," Slick said.

"I ain't your maid, dick face. Why don't you make the girl do it? That's why they put them on the planet for," Al said as he took another one of his smoking sticks from his pocket. "I'm tired as shit. You know how hard it is for me to keep changing shapes like that? Oh wait, no, cause you're not able to."

"Shut your ass up and get it."

He rolled his eyes and took him a bag, then continued down the hall and slammed a door. Yukina looked up at Slick who shrugged. They cleaned up the front room together, without speaking, without taking more than a second glance at each other as they picked up the strange things they came across. The deflated clear balloons. The needles with blood on them. The strange powder that Slick insisted was _not_ sugar and that Yukina shouldn't then set it up so she could use it in cooking for god's sake. The strange smelling leaves that Slick also said was not for tea and if she finds any more she should turn it in to home. Slick told her to wait in the room before coming back with a blanket and a pillow that he showed her how to clean and settled them on the couch so Yukina could sleep there.

"You're sure that you wanna sleep here?" Slick asked. Once he was done with straightening the blankets out with the utmost care that Yukina insisted she didn't need.

"Well, I can't be so rude as to take you from your bed. I'm still a guest, remember? I just want to go out and find my brother. Until then, I really don't want to be a burden," Yukina replied. "I would sleep on the floor if I need to."

"You don't want to sleep on the floor. You don't know what's down there. You know, rats and all that." She took a mental note to ask what a rat was and what made them so fearsome. She assumed it was a great beast for the large Slick to be worried. "But… It's not just that."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just that… How do I explain this…? Al isn't what you'd say is always right in the head. So sometimes he does things he normally wouldn't. So if he comes and tries to hurt you in the middle of the night, then you'd be vulnerable. I guess if he comes here, you can just scream and I'll get things fixed for you. How does that sound? And if you need to go out or someone comes in and asks who you are, Al told me that you're supposed to tell them that you're Alice in Wonderland."

"O… Okay." Yukina paused. "Um, Mr. Slick, why do you do all these things for me?"

"I had a little sister. Died a long time ago. Was real ugly. You remind me of what she used to be like…" He gave her a wry smile before retreating to his own room.

There was some banging on the walls coming from Al Capone's room. But he never came out. Slick was also coughing all night, the strange smoke slipping in to the air. It made it harder to sleep. But she reminded herself that she was only a guest in this house.

-X-

The next few weeks passed in much of the same way. Occasionally Mr. Slick would walk with Yukina if Al was too busy with customers, but most of the time she was allowed to go out by herself. She suspected that they expected her to leave them without saying a word. Something told her it would be better to do so than stay with these men, considering their shady backgrounds. She was starting to have more trouble trusting anyone here.

If she ever really trusted anyone to begin with.

-X-

There was a knock on the door just as Yukina walked in the kitchen to start making dinner- Al Capone's favorite monjyayaki, which Slick apparently thought was disgusting. She stood in the kitchen, a pan in her hand. She looked around. No one was coming. She shrugged and walked to the door, unlatching it and looking throw the crack just as she had been shown. There was a man there wearing strange black clothes that concealed his features while at the same time hanging off his body like the ghost hags of the legends. His eyes were the same reddish hue as Al Capone's with the sunken in, dark circles under them. His face was pale, even paler than her own. When he spoke, she saw he was missing a few teeth and he smelled like strange medicine.

He looked in a daze as the door opened, reached out to grab it, nearly missing touching Yukina's face. He looked down at her and shrieked, then started pacing back and forth across the door.

"H-hey, this is where Al Capone and Slick Joneston are right? Gimme them, okay? Hey you got any water, been dry as fuck," he spoke with an odd cadence. A bit of slurring, though she suspected it was because of his loss of teeth.

She was more than a little horrified. She hadn't seen it, though she knew some of the women in her home had gotten to this stage if they took too much of their arthritis medicine at one time. Horror stories. Somehow, she also found herself more than a little curious. Then she remembered herself and ran to Al Capone's room and tapped on the door.

"Whaddya want?" he asked. He was half dressed, hair thrown about.

"There's a man…" She felt eyes behind her. "This man wants to see you."

"Who…?" He immediately noticed the man and his demeanor changed. (_Oh, good, they're friends. _Yukina thought.) Al also noticed that the man in the black clothes was staring at Yukina. "You like her? Cause I tell you up front that's how you scare the broads away. She ain't for sale either. I ain't no pimp,"

"She looks like that girl…" the man replied.

"Oh that? Shit, you think everyone's that damn girl. Frickin actin like you popped your cherry on her. What was her name again?"

"Told me her name was Yoshiko. Fuck it, just give me the stuff and I'll get the hell outta here." Al shrugged and walked back in to his room.

The man in the black clothes turned to her. "Water? Please, some water…" She hurried in to the kitchen and got a glass of water. He took it in one gulp and asked for more. As she walked back to him, he grabbed her by the wrist with his hand shaking. Her heart started pounding in her chest. "What's your name?"

"Please let me go." She was surprised that he did as soon as she asked him to. She could run now and hide, hopefully Slick was asleep too so she could have him help her. Then again…

"_Damn you, don't let your curiosity get the best of you, think of your mother, Yukina!"_

_My mother wasn't a bad person! She was just… _Curious. Sure, she could tell this man about her home. He would most likely just scoff at her like the others have in the past. And she was finding she was perfectly okay with telling outsiders her homeland's secrets, not just because there was no consequence as of yet, but also because she just wanted to show those horrible women what they deserve. You know, in a cosmic sort of way. She knew the man in the black clothes was staring at her, as though she was the only focus and the rest was nothing more than peripheral vision.

Well, might as well. "My name is Yukina. I am from a place called Hyouga. It's the truth."

"Took you that long to answer me? Shit and here I was thinking I wasn't really saying it. You ever think so loud you think other people hear you but they don't and then you realize that you weren't thinking at all and then you're all thinking what the fuck was that about but then that's super loud too? And where do I find this place on a map?"

"I don't think you can find it on a map." A voice in the back of her head reminded her that the Devil-man spreads stupidity, which was why no one ever sees it on the maps. "And I've been gone for some time so I couldn't tell you where it is. It travels a lot, you see, and even if I could tell you, you can't go there because… because…" She drawled on the last syllable, trying to find the most blatant lie to give him.

"Because I'm a man. I know. I remember. She told me. I was hoping to find her at some point but you're the closest I've ever gotten."

"How long ago was that?"

"Dunno. I can't remember. When'd I say that?"

_What? _"Do you know if you had a child with her?"

"I know I don't have any. What's it to you?"

"Because… Because my mother came here and that's how I got my brother. Do you happen to know anyone that doesn't have a mother?"

"Lots of people don't have mothers or fathers. That's just how things are around here. Don't act like it doesn't happen. And no, I don't know anyone that could be your brother. I could be your brother the way you say it. And goddamn you, you look just like her. I almost forgot about her and you reminded me." He jumped to his feet, shrieking again. "She said she hates me. She says I hurt her and I think I did cause I don't think she wanted it but I did anyway and she hates me but then she said she loved me and fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!"

Yukina took some steps back, but still remained in the room. "Um, could I help you? You have a head ache?"

"Look, bitch, I came here because I need my fix and if I don't get my fix, then I do some bad shit. You're… Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! fuckfuckfuckfuck…" He sat back in the chair, shaking. "I wanna get off this shit. Help me get off this shit. I need some water."

Al waked out. "What the hell you doin' out there? I had to refill the bag every time you started screaming."

The man in the black clothes stared at the bag. For the first time he was coherent. "I don't want it anymore, Al."

"Going cold turkey on me? Shit, you won't last."

"Not if I leave."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Pay up, fucker." The man in the black clothes threw the chair at Al and walked out. Yukina offered to take the bag but Al shook his head. "He'll be back. Don't worry."

Yukina walked out anyway. "Hey! Your medicine! You need it!"

"I fucking don't." the man in the black clothes said. "Look, if you want you can find me at the interworld station all week. Gonna try and get clean in human world. If you're looking for someone they'd be there probably. That's where everything really is." He walked away. Then started running when he heard Yukina with the bag. She would have run after him but his speed was too great. Al Capone was the one who pulled her back in to the house.

After he was done scolding her for taking the medicine outside, Yukina asked, "What is Human World?"

"Why you wanna know?" Al asked.

"He told me."

"Fucking Ji- Why you wanna go? Do you eat people or something?"

"He said my brother would be there. Didn't I tell you I was looking for him? And you said that I'd be able to leave whenever I want so I will."

Al stared at her, then looked at the medicine, stuck a finger in it and licked it off. "Fine. Go. No skin off my nose. Then I'll get Slick off my damn back for five seconds." He opened the door. "So go."

"Can you show me how to get there?"

"Why? It's not my problem." He slammed the door. She was about to knock on it but then she sighed and decided to stand in the sidewalk, hoping someone would tell her where to go. It took forty-five minutes for her feet to start hurting from standing so long. She decided she would sit in front of the doorway She heard the sound of someone coming. She turned towards the footsteps and saw Slick.

"What'd you do?" he asked, a wry smile on his face.

"I decided I wanted to leave so he told me to get out. I know where I want to go but I don't know where I go to go there," she replied. "Could you tell me how to get to Human World?"

"What brought this on?"

"One of Al Capone's patients came and told me about it."

"Patients?"

"He was wearing black clothes and has headaches."

"Oh god, that guy. He's gone now, right?" She nodded. "So… You really want to go there, don't you?" He sighed, scratching at one of the horns on the top of his head. "I guess I'll take you. I don't think he'll miss me. Say, would you mind if I just tag along with you? Can't have a little girl walking around by herself."

Yukina stared at him in shock. "Um… Okay. Sure."

Through her anxiety, she couldn't help but feel as though she made her first friend in the Hell Below.

-X-

"_We are always running  
For the thrill of it, thrill of it  
Always pushing up the hill  
Searching for the thrill of it_

_On and on and on  
We are calling out and out again  
Never looking down  
I'm just in awe of what's in front of me_

_[…]Don't stop, just keep going on  
I'm your shoulder, lean upon  
So come on, deliver from inside  
All we got is tonight  
That is right 'til first light"_

_-Empire of the Sun, "Walking on a Dream"_


End file.
